Experimental Validation of Model-Based Control Methods for Shape Regulation in Soft Robots

Soft robots are characterized by compliant elements that introduce heightened kinematic complexity compared to their rigid counterparts. Such systems, with infinite degrees of freedom, are inherently underactuated, making precise real-time shape regulation a challenging task. Model-based controllers, utilizing tractable reduced-order modelling...

A reduced-order model of a solid oxide fuel cell stack for model predictive control

The maritime industry is actively exploring alternative fuels and drive train technology to reduce the emissions of hazardous air pollutants and greenhouse gases. High temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) represent a promising technology to generate electric power on ships from a variety of renewable fuels with high efficiencies and no...

A Model-based Fault Detection Method for the Position Transducer in the Ampelmann System

The Ampelmann system offers a safe and reliable solution for offshore access. As safety is a key factor, an extensive safety and warning management system is employed which accommodates for different fault types that may occur. Accommodation of sensor failure in the Ampelmann system is currently done through switching to a redundant component....

Model-Based Control of Tollmien-Schlichting Waves using DBD Plasma Actuators: An Experimental Study

One of the main goals of laminar flow control is to reduce skin-friction drag by delaying the onset of laminar to turbulent transition. Over unswept wings, the leading cause of this is the growth of flow instabilities called Tollmien-Schlichting(TS) waves. This thesis aims to test the feasibility and performance of a designed Linear Quadratic...

Guidance, Navigation and Control of Autonomous Vessels: An Implementation using a Control-Based Framework

This thesis report proposes a framework to implement Navigation, Guidance and Control (GNC) systems, that enable point-to-point autonomy for displacement vessels. A model-based control approach is chosen as the basis of the GNC systems. The resulting algorithms are implemented for verification in a 1:25 scale model of a Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD)...

Control of Reactive Batch Distillation Columns via Extents Transformation

Nowadays in large-scale process industry, high purity of products is not only desired but crucial. Products must meet high-purity standards to conform with market and customers’ requirements. Two chemical processes, reaction and distillation, are essential to achieve these objectives. To overcome certain disadvantages and/or limitations that...

Fault Tolerant Flight Control: A Physical Model Approach

Safety is of paramount importance in all transportation systems, but especially in civil aviation. Therefore, in civil aviation, a lot of developments focus on the improvement of safety levels and reducing the risks that critical failures occur. When one analyses recent aircraft accident statistics, it is clear that a significant portion is...